Ezra:  I thought  the advantage of the DOT 5 silicone brake fluid was that
it didn't absorb moisture and that's why it's $30 a quart.

Of course this stuff is not recommended for the Vanagon so it's a moot
point.

Dimwitted moose and Flying Squirrel.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ezra Hall <ehall@TOGETHER.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Monday, April 17, 2000 2:03 PM
Subject: Re: Aaaaargh! Brake failure (long)

>Brent,
> The brake fade you are experiencing is due to vaporization of brake fluid
(more
>specifically, whatever is in your brake lines, it may be a combination of
brake
>fluid and H2O). What kind of fluid did you use? What is its boiling point?
You
>mentioned the need to pump once to gain a firm pedal, that is a sign of air
>in the brake hydraulic system, how did you bleed the brakes? Did you flush
the
>lines until clear? When towards the end of bleeding, I always open the
bleeders
>a minimal amount to keep air from being sucked back past the threads of the
>bleeder. You can identify the amount of bleeder opening which allows air to
>be sucked past the threads by observing the amount of bleeder opening which
>causes more bubbles in the bleed stream (due to a venturi type effect).
Also
>make sure you close the bleeder before positive pressure is lost.
>   Can you spin the wheels freely or are the calipers binding? Perhaps if
air
>is in the system, it is staying slightly pressurized after letting off the
brake
>pedal causing brake system heating during normal driving. Did you adjust
the
>rear shoes properly so as not to bind? When driving long mountain passes, I
>always use the engine to brake as much as possible (difficult on our Auto
Westy,
>but still possible).
>  You can help minimize reduction in braking due to gassing at the
pad/rotor
>interface by slotting your brake pads. Do this by using two hack saw blades
>in parallel to score a groove (approx 1/4" deep) in the center of each pad
parallel
>with a radia drawn from the center of the rotor (short direction of the
pad).
>This slot will help gasses escape the pad/rotor interface.
>  Use a high quality brake fluid. Castrol GT LMA is ok, if you are still
experiencing
>problems you could move to a higher temp fluid, but make sure you flush it
more
>often as higher temp/performance brake fluids also absorb moisture at a
faster
>rate.
>Good Luck, be safe!
>Ezra
>'88 Westy, 94K
>'86 944, 260K